Landmine explosion kills serviceman, injures 3 others in Anbar

Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Four Iraqi servicemen were killed and injured Sunday in a landmine explosion in Anbar province, a source from the Anbar Operations Command was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Basnews website, the source said, “Iraqi troops were on patrol in al-Sakan area in al-Qa’im district, west of Anbar, when a landmine exploded, killing one of them and injuring three others.”

The source highlighted that the explosive remnants of the war against the Islamic State (IS) group is still posing a security threat to civilians and security men across Iraq.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.

The United Nations says nearly five million people have been displaced since Islamic State militants took over large areas of Iraq in 2014 to proclaim a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”.